I just thought of something that happened to me when I was young and dumb but could still happen now that I am not so young anymore. I wonder if other people have done similarly stupid things.

At age 16 I was traveling to NYC to visit my uncle over New Year. I was wearing a big long wool coat with huge pockets. When we arrived at my uncle's house, the orderly boy that I was cleaned out his coat pockets with all the papers, boarding passes napkins and what have you.

Well, I also through away my return ticket!

Fortunately, we noticed two or three days before our departure. We went to the TWA office and explained it. They couldn't do anything. We had to buy a new ticket even though we could prove that we had bought a return ticket. On our return to Germany my mother wrote a letter with her lawyer letterhead and TWA did reimburse the ticket.

What are your wildest travel mistakes?

Till